Goldman Sachs' welcoming outlook on landgrab deals will be scrutinised because banks were criticised by some for fuelling speculation in commodities last year.

CHOBE agrivision will become the largest agri-business in Zambia surpassing ZAMBEFF PLC according to owners Chayton Capital

A draft of the first-ever international code of conduct for farmland deals should be ready by the end of the year, the head of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development said.

While food security may be the aim of land acquisitions for many Gulf investors, KCIC sees Asian agribusiness purely from a commercial standpoint.

The FAO's response to the acquisition of land by foreign entities will be a separate process from the development of voluntary guidelines on land tenure, but will also address issues of governance and the need for effective and fair institutions.

De Jager is most excited about an impending Agri SA fact-finding mission to Libya at the invitation of President Muammar Gaddafi. "If we succeed there, we can succeed anywhere in Africa."

This study, published by Misereor and Heinrich Boell Foundation, has given a first regional overview of the development of FDI inflows over the last decade in Ethiopia.

Qatar's Hassad Food is eyeing a stake in Russia's PAVA and has signed a deal potentially worth $1 billion to develop land in Sudan as it looks to grow through acquisitions and joint ventures, its chairman said on Thursday.

Asked why he was attracted to Sudan, where Citadel got 200,000 ha of farmland betting on a continued global commodities rally, Chairman Ahmed Heikal said: "Almost free land, available water, fantastic climate, fantastic land quality -- why not Sudan?"

In many parts of the developing world, legislation allowing compulsory acquisition of land in the public interest has been used to make land available not for schools or hospitals, but for commercial projects – in the mining, petroleum or agriculture sectors.

A US Department of Agriculture-led investment scanning of potential business matches in the Philippines has identified $330 million worth of prospects in agriculture, with large tracts of land offered along the pattern provided to Saudi Arabian business groups

In a bid to ensure food security for the country, Indian solvent extractors have sought government support to buy agricultural land abroad.